


The Return of the Prodigal

by MidnightVelvet



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-01-26
Packaged: 2018-05-15 19:56:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5797729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightVelvet/pseuds/MidnightVelvet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a young woman turns up shot on his front lawn it leads to a new case for the team and to a very personal surprise for Rossi.</p><p>I have no idea where it sits in the canon - it just is...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Delivery

**Author's Note:**

> This is the reposting of a fanfic I wrote a while ago (An Earlier Heaven) and had posted on ff.net. It was written before the CM storyline about Rossi's daughter so please don't get confused because they have absolutely no relation to each other. I've edited and rewritten a little but it's un-beta'd so if you find any mistakes please let me know. Feedback and comments always gratefully received or you can just say Hi!  
> Hope you enjoy!

It was a rare occasion that allowed the team to enjoy themselves with such easy going contentment. Rossi looked around at the table cradling the glass of excellent merlot and couldn’t help but smile. Everyone was happy, everyone was relaxed, everyone was safe, but the best part was that they were all together. The team. This family. His family. This dinner was his way of offering thanks for what had been a god given week of relative calm in their otherwise frantic lives and they had all benefitted greatly from it. The early November snows had grounded them after a freak blizzard had locked down DC and most of the eastern sea board. Unable to fly out on any cases they had been office bound but not even that had stopped them doing their jobs. The team had offered consult after consult via the phone, skype, and email. They probably would have used carrier pigeons and morse code if it had allowed them to catch more unsubs. They had worked hard and this was their reward, an evening off where they could enjoy each other’s company and talk about anything other than work. Will had his arm casually draped around JJ’s shoulder his eyes watching his sons fascination with Reid who was bewitching his god son and Jack with a magic trick. Blake was talking earnestly to JJ and Garcia about her travels while Derek and Hotch seemed to be teasing each other mercilessly about something. Full of good food, and excellent wine, laughter bounced off the walls of his dining room as time ceased to move on holding them all in the soft embrace of a moment that none of them wanted to end. Life in that moment was good, and once again Rossi offered thanks to the universal powers.

Seduced by the moment none of them were prepared for the three gunshots that sounded from the street outside his house. Rossi pushed his chair back but had no time to do anything else. The breaking of glass as a fourth bullet blew out one of windows had them all diving for cover in the name of self protection. The squeal of tyres and a revving of an engine were heard over the heavy breathing. Together they reached for their guns and as one they were on their feet. 

The street was empty as Rossi wrenched open the front door. The night was crisp and clear and the snow glistened under the bright moonlight as if it were studded with diamonds. Lights were flicking on in the houses around them, as the inhabitants, disturbed by the shots, gathered themselves. With gun brandished Rossi, with Morgan and Reid at his back, checked the street which was most definitely empty. Their breath plumed in the cold air only for it to vanish like the threat that had abruptly cut into the pleasant evening. Adrenaline made him hyper sensitive to everything around him. As he stepped out onto the path the snow crunched beneath his feet and the security light came on causing him to blink

“What’s that?” Morgan said moving passed Rossi 

Inching across the lawn he moved down to a long low shadow that could not be easily identified in the darkness. Leading with his gun Morgan approached the mass with caution his gut telling him that the only thing to be afraid of was far away and unseen in the darkness. Careful to keep his feet beneath him as he moved forward Morgan could feel his team backing him up covering him just in case the night held a few more surprises. He smelled the copper of fresh blood before he saw it. Lowering his gun he dropped to his knees and reached out.

“Call 911,” Morgan shouted back as he holstered his gun. Turning the body over his first thought was that the woman was dead. It was only when he heard the faint moan that he breathed a sigh of relief. It was a temporary relief however. Someone had worked her over really well, the signs of the bad beating covered all of her.

“We shouldn’t move her. She may have sustained spinal or neck injuries,” Reid said from over Morgan’s shoulder. 

“It’s ok. We’ve got you. I’m Derek Morgan and this is Spender Reid. We’re with the FBI,” her eyelids seemed to flicker slightly but she made no other sound or movement. “Help me check her over.” 

Working together Morgan ran his hands over her body checking and cataloguing her injuries in the light of Reid’s flashlight. He could feel the sticky warmth of her blood and could feel it freeze in the cold night air. Siren’s were coming closer and suddenly the street was filled with blue and red light. Finally Derek could step away and let the medical experts do their job. Looking around him he checked the rest of the team reassuring himself that everyone was fine. Blake and Rossi had been checking the street scouring it for evidence and clues before it became trashed by the EMT’s and cops. Hotch had Jack cradled in one arm and held the phone to his ear with the other. He was obviously waking up a ton of people. They waited as the EMT’s swiftly had the young woman on the backboard and they were loading her into the ambulance as the cops pulled up. 

Everyone who had gathered seemed to hold their breath as the woman was loaded into the emergency vehicle and was driven away. Only when the lights had disappeared did anyone move. Morgan felt Garcia pull him and Reid into a hug. He wanted to wrap his arms around them in need of the warmth but he couldn’t; his hands were bloody. Easing himself away he stalked into the house eager to wash the blood off his hands.

Detective Weston had them pegged for law enforcement before he had even gotten out of the car. Issuing instructions he turned his attention to the people he needed to talk to, namely the people that were gathered on the lawn of the mansion. There was something federal about all of them.

“Detective Weston. May I ask who the owner of the property is?”

“That would be me,” Rossi stepped forward and offered his hand to the detective. “Shall we talk inside?”

“May I ask which branch of the federal government you all work for?” the detective asked as the door was closed behind him and eight pairs of eyes settled on him. 

“FBI, the BAU. That’s the beha…”

“The behavioural analysis unit. I know. I’ve heard of you guys. I attended a training seminar with Jason Gideon a few years ago. Interesting work,” the detective offered them a brief smile. His mother had always taught him that good manners and a sincere smile opened many doors. His mother had been right. “So, what happened?”

It didn’t take long for them to recount the details, the detective listening attentively and committing everything to memory as he just let them talk. As calmness settled back onto the group it became clear that the detective couldn’t have asked for better eye witnesses. Not that they had seen anything but they had heard a lot. Luckily this was an upscale neighbourhood and where there was money there was a general paranoia that someone might take the money and that meant that there would be security cameras. Someone would have caught something on tape and his partner was working on finding out what that was now. His cell phone rang as the conversation was drawing to a natural halt.

“Sure. Ok. Thanks,” Weston ended the call and pocketed the phone. “Does the name Scarlett Stanhope mean anything to any of you?”

He was met by a sea of shaking heads. There was one notable exception. All eyes slowly settled on David Rossi

“Agent Rossi?” Weston had noted the change in the man just as everyone else had. 

Dave felt the blood in his veins run cold and scorching hot all at the same time. It was as if a bad wound had been torn open and salt had been poured in. Stanhope. It was a name he avoided. Stanhope. Sasha Stanhope. Agent Sasha Stanhope if he was going to be precise. Rossi liked to think that he was a man who faced up to his mistakes but Sasha was a part of his past that was just too painful to remember. Carolyn, James and Sasha – the triumvirate of pain at the core of his loneliness. He pushed the memories and the feelings away knowing that the team weren’t going let him stay silent for long. 

“I worked with a Sasha Stanhope. She was one of the first Agents we recruited when we set up the BAU. It could just be a coincidence,”

“A young woman has been dumped on the lawn of an FBI agent. I’d say we’re a little beyond coincidence wouldn’t you,”

“Scarlett is Sasha’s daughter,” Garcia announced from across the room. Everyone had been so focussed on Dave that they hadn’t noticed her slip away, set up her PDA, get online and interrogate the information superhighway. 

“That’s impressive. Now if you can pull me up a contact number for the mother as quickly I’ll owe you a drink or two,” 

“I like them fruity and potent. Much like myself,” Garcia spoke as her fingers flew across the keys. Her mood crashing as quickly as the information was returned to her. “that’s interesting”

“What?” the team were gathering around her. Garcia looked up and found Rossi immediately. 

“Sasha Stanhope is dead. There’s a grandmother. Selena Stanhope. The matriarch of THE Stanhope family of Kentucky. Lawyers, Washington politicos, and lots and lots of money. From phone records I can see that Scarlett appears to talk to her a couple of times a day,” her fingers continued to work. Weston’s phone beeped and he fished it out of his pocket. “That’s her number”

“How the hell did you get my number? When did you have time to get my number?” Weston stared at the message on his phone. “Fruity and potent you said”

“With the little umbrellas,” Garcia smiled up at him unashamedly pleased with her ability to wow.

“You can have anything you want Blondie,” Weston said stepping away to make the call and ignoring the disgruntled look that Agent Morgan was sending his way.

“Words I will never get tired of hearing. Don’t worry baby boy, you’re still my number one,” Garcia reached out and stroked Morgan’s arm but he wasn’t soothed. Garcia was flirting with another man and making him watch. It didn’t help that the detective appeared to be a good guy and was good looking in a kind of Gary Cooper/Robert Mitchum/square-jawed-50’s-movie-star kind of way. Morgan hated Weston and the look of sparkly interest his baby girl was giving the detective.

“Garcia. Who is Scarlett’s father?” the words tumbled out of Rossi’s mouth before he had even realised that he was going to ask the question.

“Well that’s the interesting thing. Sasha Stanhope never married and there’s no father listed on Scarlett’s birth certificate.” 

Dave felt the eyes of the team come to rest on him with the unanswered question in the air. Suddenly Rossi wanted to be anywhere but here. There was only one place he did want to go. He knew exactly where he needed to be.


	2. Sasha

The unasked question hung in the air. They all knew Rossi’s youthful reputation and Dave was acutely aware that he and Sasha had done far more than just work together. However there was no way that the team knew that Sasha had been more than just another recruit so all Rossi needed to do was ignore the enquiring looks. Right now he needed a drink and something stronger than the glass of wine he had abandoned at the dinner table. What he needed more however was a clear head so the scotch would have to stay in the bottle tonight. His head ached and he wondered where the calm serenity of the earlier evening had gone to.

“So the grandmother is on her way,” Weston announced at he came back into the room. “Let’s just hope Miss Stanhope comes through surgery ok.”

“Surgery?” concern stole Rossi’s voice, the word nothing more than a hoarse croak as it hung between his lips.

“There was significant internal bleeding. She flat lined in the ambulance,” Weston 

“Oh my stars,” Garcia’s hand flew to her own wound. Now nothing more than a scar she remembered the incident too well. Her heart sympathised with the woman she had never met.

“Detective. We’d like to assist you in the case if you would allow us,” Hotch offered knowing that the new Section Chief wasn’t going to like this but his instinct was telling him that it was the right thing to do. 

There was no such thing as coincidence. Therefore logic demanded that there was a reason why this girl had been so brutally beaten and then dumped here of all places. Why Rossi’s front lawn? If the answer to that question was what he feared it might be then that was another clear reason to be involved. And so it was also for Rossi that he made the offer. Dave looked after all of them and this was one of those times when they could return the favour. Hotch didn’t trust any group of people more than he trusted his team.

“I’ll take any help you can give me. We’re under manned at the moment, and the weather isn’t helping our response times, so if you want to jump on in I’m certainly not going to turn you down. I’ll smooth it over with the chief ,” Weston was confident and he liked the idea of working with these guys.

“Dave. You should go to the hospital. Someone should be there when the grandmother arrives,” Hotch’s voice pulled Rossi out of his contemplation. 

“I’ll have someone from the crime unit to meet you there and take possession of her clothing and effects,” Weston said texting the instruction through as Dave grabbed his coat and his keys and left without a second glance.

CM_CM_CM

Rossi paced the corridors of the hospital feeling like a caged animal. With nothing to do and no news from the operating room he was too wired to sleep. With his defences down he had no way of holding back the thoughts that plagued him and Sasha came back to haunt him. Knowing Sasha and the start of the BAU had been, to paraphrase Dickens, the best of times and the worst of times. Memories tumbled into his mind of the brilliant woman he had known and even as he tried and failed to push them aside again he found himself filled with an inexplicable sadness and grief at the thought that she was no longer alive.

Sasha had been a surprise; the unexpected love that had cut through the booze and the grief and the self-inflicted torture over his failed marriage to Carolyn. It was the time when he and Carolyn had parted, unable to bridge the distance between them created by the still birth of their son James. The divorce had been the only thing they could do. He and Carolyn had grown weary of shuffling around each other in silence, both of them in too much pain to even look at each other, or touch each other. All conversation had stopped and the marriage had crumbled away. Single again Rossi had crawled into his work and covered up the pain hoping that by denying it’s existence he could simply will it away. It had also the time when Rossi had been unable to sleep without a bottle of scotch and a willing woman. Without them he had dreams of his dead son and the abrupt end of the family life he had always hoped for.  
When Rossi had first recruited Sasha he had wanted her. Back then the FBI and the BAU had been a different place and he had been a different man but the team had nicknamed her the ice maiden after she had turned down every one of their indecent proposals. She had been recruited to the unit initially for one assignment only; to be the bait in the honey trap. Her refined looks and flaxen hair combined with her innate society breeding had opened every door that they’d needed. Sasha had done considerably more than look pretty though as she had ended up taking out the unsubs singlehandedly when the team had failed to reach her in time. Rossi smiled to himself even now as he remembered storming into the room only to find the delicate blonde standing surrounded by three unconscious bodies and her gun trained on the fourth unsub as he cried like a little girl. Rossi had requested her permanent transfer to the BAU after that and it had been granted. 

Sasha had earned her place on the team twice over and she had earned his respect so much so that she had become off limits. That had all changed when he’d returned from a particularly bad case and he’d spent the next week taking his bad mood out on anyone who even looked at in the wrong way. She had slapped it out of him; literally. His face had glowed with the sting of her palm print that she had embedded in his face. She had followed it up by dragging him to the nearest bar and getting him very drunk and listened to his incensed and nonsensical ramblings before taking him home and letting him pass out on her sofa. The following day she got him drunk again and with his guard down he talked; and then he’d cried. She listened to all of it and nursed him through the obscene hangover that followed. By Monday David Rossi felt like a different man; cracked but no longer shattered. Two weeks later he and Sasha made love for the first time.

The next six weeks had been bliss and the happiest that he had been in a long time. Days were challenging but he felt fulfilled. The nights were all theirs and they couldn’t get enough of each other. There were weekends where they fell into bed on the Friday night and didn’t emerge again until Monday and only then because the job was calling. Rossi had started to think the unimaginable; he had started to think about a future. And then it had all ended as quickly and as surprisingly as it had started. The phone call had come in when they had been at work. Her father had been taken ill, a suspected heart attack, and she needed to go home. She had thrown her things into her bag, and distributed her case load quickly, and then she was gone. She had promised to call him when she knew what the situation was. That had been the last time he had seen her. The phone call was never made and her letter of resignation had come less than a week later. A friend had come to pick up the few personal effects that had been left. It was the same friend who had overseen the boxing up of the apartment. 

Rossi had moved on. Too quickly as it turned out thanks to a need to prove to himself, and Sasha, that he didn’t need her, and that he could get by perfectly well without her. He got engaged to his second wife exactly one month after Sasha had left. Another month after that and he was married. Life had moved on and only the memory of what Dave and Sasha had once meant to each other had been left behind. The same hurt feeling of abandonment and betrayal unfurled within him now as he entertained the unthinkable thought. Scarlett Stanhope, Sasha’s daughter, might also be his daughter. It was more than a feeling, it was a genuine possibility. Garcia, wondrous woman that she was, had sent a collection of information to Rossi’s PDA. The first thing he had looked at was the birth date. It was enough to know that the possibility was a probability. Scarlett was just two years younger than James as she was born in the spring of 1981. 

Rendered numb by the heady and terrifying mix of emotions he couldn’t identify Rossi once again looked for something to do. Flashing his badge he asked for her belongings no longer waiting for the CSI. It was something of substance that he could do. Signing the paperwork he charmed the nurse into letting him use one of the empty exam rooms to lay it all out but he still kept the door open so that he would be able to see the arrival of any news. The agent in him told him to wear gloves but the father in him wanted and needed to touch without the barrier. In a very visceral way it was as close as he could get to her right now, and he needed it. The father in him won out. Reaching into the bag he could feel that her clothes were still damp from the snow and her blood. Item by item Rossi laid them out; Indigo blue jeans, a red sweater, and a soft leather jacket all of which were velvety and pliable from frequent wear. The soft echo of a scent of her exotic jasmine perfume breathed life into the items. Rossi went through the pockets finding nothing until he finally got to the jacket. In the breast pocket was a flyer for an exhibition of photographs by Scarlett Stanhope. So she was a photographer and an award winning one at that if the flyer was to be believed. It was the other contents that intrigued him; a memory card. Whatever was on it had to be important.

A figure appeared in the doorway and he looked up expectantly hoping that it would be the news that he had been waiting for. No such luck. Rossi had never met her before but there was no doubt about who she was. The woman standing before him was Selena Stanhope. Rossi couldn’t help but see the family resemblance with Sasha. The same restrained demeanour, the same flaxen blonde hair.

“Detective Weston explained that you would be here,” each perfectly pronounced word dripped with disappointment and resentment.

“You know who I am?” 

“Indeed Mr Rossi,” Mrs Stanhope took a step forward leaning on the stick she needed for support. She hated the stick because it made her look weak but there was no way that she could do without it. Weakness was something she had worked hard at eliminating in herself and her family. 

“It’s Agent Rossi,” Dave felt himself bristling with tension beneath the woman’s supercilious stare.

“Of course. As I have now arrived, perhaps you would like to leave, Agent Rossi,”

Dave watched the woman closely. He had no doubt that she would have been formidable in her day, a real force to be reckoned with, but he was not a man to be easily intimidated. He also saw beneath the veneer of polite dismissal to the fear beneath and it was the fear that confirmed everything he needed to know. 

“So Scarlett is my daughter,”

The non-question hung heavy in the air between them.

“Yes, Agent Rossi. She is.”

Selena Stanhope had moved away before any other conversation could take place. There was after all nothing more to say on the matter and she was annoyed that she had needed to say even that much. Taking a seat in the waiting room she waited because there was nothing more to do. The family was on its way, and the family lawyer had also been summoned. Between them they would handle any unpleasantness that may arise from this unfortunate situation.

Hotch, Morgan and Garcia showed up to check on how Dave was doing and he had never been more grateful to see them in his life. Hotch had never seen Rossi so tense and withdrawn before and was glad that Jack had gone home with JJ, Will and Henry for the night. Reid and Blake had stayed behind at Rossi’s place to deal with the clean up and the gathering of evidence that was keeping all the neighbours up. 

“So? Is she?” Morgan asked wanting to cut to the chase. Rossi could only nod, not trusting himself to speak.

“Congratulations Daddy. Have you had looked at the information I sent you,” Garcia gave him a hug. It was certainly not their usual greeting but tonight he would take it.

“I can’t,”

“That’s ok,” Hotch lay a reassuring hand on Dave’s shoulder. He understood. Dave wouldn’t look at the information Garcia had put together until he knew Scarlett’s condition either one way or another. If the worst was to happen, if Rossi was to find a daughter and lose a daughter all in the same night, without a chance to get to know her, it would crush him. Dave was shielding himself from the pain. 

It had been another hour until the news had come that Scarlett had made it out of surgery and that a full recovery was to be hoped for. Relief and something that he could only attribute as joy swept over him and robbed him off his breath. With the waiting finally over Rossi sent Hotch, Morgan and Garcia away to get some sleep. They took Scarlett’s belongings into custody with them as no CSI tech had shown up yet. Garcia promised to start in on the memory card ASATGP - as soon as tech goddess possible – to interrogate it for any clues it might hold. As for himself he waited at the end of the dark night for Scarlett to be brought from recovery into the ICU. It was in those long minutes that he finally opened the files that Garcia had sent and he looked upon his daughters face for the first time.


	3. It Came to Light

As he stepped off the BAU elevator David Rossi looked like a man who was carrying the world on his shoulders. He also looked like a man who hadn’t slept and it had been a very long night. Dave had gone home long enough to shower and put on clean clothes after the nurses had assured him that they would let him know if there was any change in Scarlett’s condition. The assurances didn’t stop him from checking his phone every thirty seconds just in case he had missed something. Blake was waiting for him as he stepped into the BAU.

“We’re in the round room,”

“What’s going on?” even in his sleep deprived state he could sense the coiled sense of purpose that was waiting to leap into action.

“You look like crap,” Hotch said as he looked up.

“Thanks,” Rossi murmured as he shuffled himself into a chair. “So what’s going on?”

“We’re waiting for Garcia. She summoned us all here,” 

“I am right here my doves,” Garcia bustled in carrying her laptop. She put a small brown paper bag down on the table in front of Rossi. She had drawn a smiley face on it with a black marker. “A muffin for my muffin. Because I figured you wouldn’t have time for breakfast.” 

“Miss Garcia,” Detective Weston pulled out a chair for Garcia to sit down in.

“You are such a gentleman,” her mood changed on a dime and the team all gathered around with Weston and his partner Callas. “Ok. Let’s get on with this because there is nothing that anyone is going to like about this.”

“Did you look at the memory card?” “I did and I found, well, this,” three photographs of DC appeared on the screen. “Nice views but I knew something was off as these three pictures filled the memory card, which just isn’t possible. So I looked closer and every pixel is in fact a mini picture in itself. When you blow them up, this is what you get.”

Another press of the button and the screen was filled with pictures of Scarlett, Jack and Henry. Work, home, school, play dates, nights out, with friends, with family, it was all there, every second of their lives.

“We need to bring Jack and Henry here immediately,” Hotch spoke, his voice cutting through the room.

“I’ll call Will,” JJ hit speed dial. Weston also grabbed his phone and dialled.

“Tell him to stay put until we get there,” Morgan was heading out followed by Reid. JJ signalled that she’d heard them as she explained to Will exactly what was going on. 

“I’ve got uniforms ready to sit out front and I’ve dispatched a couple to the hospital,” Weston spoke as he hung up. 

“Thanks,” JJ smiled tightly. “At least Jack was still at our place.”

“Garcia, was there any other information included on the memory card?” Hotch was frowning so hard the deep furrow between his eyebrows had a deep furrow. 

“This was it. I’ve interrogated it for other hidden files, encryptions, Trojan horses and other nasties but there’s nothing. Sorry,”

“That’s alright Garcia,” Hotch’s voice was calm but the tension in his body said that he felt anything but. “Dave, what’s the news on Scarlett?”

“The hospital said they would call when she was coming round. They had to remove her spleen which had been ruptured during the attack. Otherwise she has a couple of cracked ribs, her left wrist is broken and there are all the cuts and bruises. Her hands are pretty messed up from where she fought back. Apparently it could have been worse. She was lucky” he cleared his throat. His voice cracking.

“When can we talk to her?” Aaron hated asking and the look Dave gave him made it clear that any questioning would have to take place over his dead body. 

Rossi’s dad gene had kicked in fast; the look made it very clear that he would do anything to protect his little girl. Hotch needed to keep his head in the game as tough as it was. Jack needed him to stay focussed. It was the best chance of catching the unsub who appeared to want to put their kids in play. It was an effort to stay this calm though. Hotch was pissed, seriously pissed. He wanted to howl and break things and then pack Jack into the car and head for the safest place he could find. Like everyone on the team, they did this job because they believed in it, because it was a job that needed doing and by catching the bad guys they made the world just a little bit safer for their families. Was it too much to ask that their families could stay safe. After everything had happened with Foyet, with Haley, and with every member of the team that they could all just be safe?

“Dave, we need to talk to Scarlett. She’s the only witness we have and she may have vital information,” 

“Okay then,” Rossi said distracted by the picture of Scarlett that Garcia had put up on the screen alongside the ones of Jack and Henry. 

“She’s a real doll. You did good boss man,” she smiled. 

“I don’t see the resemblance either to you or her mother,” Weston pointed out.

Rossi looked over the picture that was becoming familiar to him now. Weston was right; on the surface Scarlett did look nothing like Sasha or himself. There was no mistaking his Italian heritage, just as there was no mistaking Sasha’s Scandinavian bloodlines. But looking closer Scarlett’s pale skin and emerald green eyes were all borrowed from her mother. As for the red hair, that was really no mystery.

“She looks just like my grandmother. Nonna was second generation American Irish, with a passionate nature to match any hot blooded Italian. When she married my Italian American grandfather everyone said it wouldn’t last. They were married for seventy one years and died within two days of each other.”

“That is so sweet,” Garcia sighed.

“Did you want to phone the hospital and tell them we’re coming?” he didn’t want to cut into Dave’s contemplation of his new daughter but he wanted to move things along. 

“I think it’s best if we just show up. It will be a nice surprise for Mrs Stanhope,”

CM_CM_CM

JJ called to let them know that Jack and Henry had arrived at the safely at the BAU just as they were wandering into the hospital that had been turned into an annex of the Stanhope Offices. They were met by a wall of resistance and the nurses looked flustered and put out. The family were in the waiting room hiding behind a wall of lawyers and assistants.

“SSA Hotchner, SSA Rossi and Detective Weston. We’re here to see Scarlett Stanhope,”

“Gentleman. Mrs Stanhope appreciates your diligence in the case but this is a family matter,” the lawyer in his sharp suit crowded them trying to invade their personal space so that they would back off. The three men smiled, not only was the lawyer outnumbered but he clearly had no idea who he was dealing with. “This will hopefully compensate you for any inconvenience you have suffered Mr Rossi,”

The lawyer held a check for $200,000 in front of Dave. Taking the paper he looked at it incredulously as the lawyer smirked. They all obviously believed that money talked.

“My daughter is not for sale,” Dave said simply before he tore the check in two and let the pieces scatter to the ground. 

He was about to let rip and tear the lawyer a new one when an alarm screamed from the private room he knew Scarlett had been put into. Caught up in the nurses that ran to attend their patient Dave found himself on the outside of a closed door, his heart in his mouth and his mind blank with blind panic. Seconds ticked slowly by as he stared at the door and then eventually it opened and the nurse he had met last night offered him a bright and reassuring smile.

“It’s alright Agent Rossi. Miss Stanhope is fine. She woke up and in a panic removed her own breathing tube,” she placed a reassuring hand on Rossi’s arm before she moved away. ave felt eth ice melt away from his bones.

“Please step aside,” Selena Stanhope flanked by one of her sons stood behind him. Rolssi was pleased to see that there was no way that they could get to Scarlett 

“I’m afraid we can’t do that. Miss Stanhope is a witness in an on going case and we need to question her,” Hotch jumped in quickly. The look on Dave’s face told him that his friend was at the end of his patience. A few more moments and he’d be verbally bashing away at the Stanhopes like they were the worst kind of unsub. While it was something that Hotch would like to see he had to be the big shoulders and think about the bigger picture.

“Then you may go in and talk to her. Agent Rossi may not. And my son will be present the whole time,”

“Dave?” the two men had a whole conversation with a single word, a few looks and finally Rossi nodded. As much as he wanted to go and meet her, he had no idea if she wanted to meet him, or even knew who she was. Rossi stood aside and let Aaron and Stephen Stanhope enter the room. The door closed behind them. Straining he could hear voices, then something that sounded like a plastic cup being thrown. Then the door opened again.

“We have a problem Mrs Stanhope. Your granddaughter is refusing to speak to anyone except Agent Rossi,” Aaron had moderated his tone but there was something about this that he was enjoying. 

“This is ridiculous,” the old lady said as she brushed passed Rossi who entered the room. Weston figured that as he was here he might as well join the party. 

“Litte Letti,” 

“Do not call me that Grandmother. I don’t like it,” tired and hurting Scarlett had no patience to play the Stanhope games today. It was exhausting enough at the best of times. She focussed instead on one of the men she had never met before. Not met but she knew his face, his name. His photograph had been in the information that the private detective had provided her with. 

“I’m told you want to talk to me,” Rossi watched as the girl nodded. “Do you know who I am?”

“You’re my father,” the words were barely a whisper.

“Letti,” Selena was shocked but not surprised by her granddaughter’s impropriety. She had always been trouble, no matter how hard they had tried to make her into a Stanhope. She had never quite fitted the mould and broke the rules more than any one, especially a woman, should. 

“Don’t look so shocked. You were never going to tell me so I went and found out on my own,” Scarlett usually didn’t allow herself to be angry with her Stanhope relations. It was futile and ultimately frustrating. Even if they had made her feel like she was nothing most of the time they were all she’d had – until now. Scarlett found she couldn’t take her eyes of the man who had been the love of her mother’s life, who had given her life. As crazy as it sounded something just seemed to click into place but as right as it felt Scarlett was still very afraid of so many things. “How did you find me?”

“You were left at my house,”

“I’m sorry I was so much trouble,” Rossi could help but think that she sounded like Reid as she collapsed back against the banked pillows behind her. Scarlett let her eyes close, tired and worn down by the pain. In the last four months when she had been gathering the courage to go and see her father she had imagined what the first meeting would be like. She had thought about every scenario from him slamming the door in her face to welcoming her with open arms but she had never considered that she would be lying in a hospital bed having been beaten to within an inch of her life. Scarlett had no way of knowing that at that moment David Rossi thought that he had never seen a more beautiful woman than his own daughter.

“We have some questions for you,” Hotch broke the moment. 

“Of course,” Scarlett pushed herself up so that she could at least pretend that she was alert. “Grandmother, Uncle Stephen, I’m sure this is very inconvenient for you both. As you see I am perfectly fine so you can get back to work now.”

“I’ll be staying until you’re well enough to travel to the estate,” it was a dismissal of Scarlett’s concerns

“I’m not going back to the compound with you. I’ll be staying in DC. Now please leave so that I can talk to the FBI,”  
Hotch and Rossi recognised manipulation when they saw it. Scarlett had pushed exactly the right buttons to get her family out of the room. They also both noted how Scarlett visibly relaxed once her family were gone and the door was closed. Rossi had already decided that he was going to let Aaron lead the interview. The situation between him and Scarlett would complicate matters and Rossi was as eager to protect Jack and Henry as the rest of the team. 

“Miss Stanhope, we need to do a cognitive interview. It will help us get at the details of what happened to you last night,”

“I know how it works. I’ve read your books. But first of all I insist that you call me Scarlett,”

“Ok Scarlett,” Hotch smiled. It appeared that while she may not look like Dave the attitude was all his. “I need you to just relax, get as comfortable as you can.”

Scarlett relaxed back into the pillows and let Hotch’s voice wash over her. It was a nice voice, deep, soothing, reassuring and just a little bit sexy. 

“Can you talk us through the events that led up to your attack,”

“I was at the gallery all day yesterday taking delivery of my work for the exhibition. Mike and I spent the afternoon working out where everything was going to go.”

“Did anyone see you there?” 

“Maybe. A couple of clients came in but the gallery is one of my main hang outs when I’m in DC. Mike is also my best friend and manager. Oh my god he’s going to be so worried,” sitting bolt upright she winced as she pulled the stiches in her stomach. “Mike is going to wonder where the hell I am”

“We’ll let him know. What’s his name and contact details?” Weston stepped in. As fascinating as it was watching the BAU boys at work he liked action and this was something active he could do. 

“Mike Hallow. The Hallow Gallery. It’s in Alexandria, just off King Street. His numbers in my phone,” Scarlett relaxed back down.

“We didn’t find a phone,” Rossi 

“I’ll call Garcia. I’m sure she can help us out,” Weston stepped out of the room happy for any excuse to call the blonde bombshell.

“Scarlett,” Hotch said her name to make sure he had her attention. “What time did you leave the gallery?”

“About seven. Mike had a date so he went home to change, but I went and grabbed some dinner at the Chinese place down the street. I stayed for about an hour and then I walked back to my bike but the tyres had been slashed.”

“Where was your bike parked?”

“In front of the gallery,”

“And you hadn’t noticed the damage earlier?”

“No,”

“It must have been done while she was at dinner,” Rossi spoke directly to Hotch. What he didn’t say it that it was likely that there had been someone watching her as she left the gallery. They had wanted to take away her transport which left her vulnerable. That made this a planned attack and therefore the unsub was organised, meticulous and focused on his goal; whatever that may be.

“What did you do then?”

“I’d planned to do research for a possible new collection so I did it on foot. I started walking, taking photographs. I couldn’t tell you where I went. I was just drifting around Alexandria for a couple of hours. I got as far as Founders Park when I decided that I was cold and tired and I was going to head back to Mike’s place. I hailed a cab and as I went to get in I was hit, on the back of the head,”  
Hotch could feel the tension in the body he sat next to and saw the increase in her shallow breathing. She was relieving the moment and the adrenaline was once again running through her body. Scarlett’s hands had balled themselves into fists that clutched the sheet they rested on. Gently Hotch reached out and placed his hand over hers. Her fingers were ice cold

“Scarlett, you’re safe, there’s nothing more they can do to hurt you,” Hotch offered his reassurance, the words tumbling out of his mouth almost automatically. 

“That’s not true,” her eyes popped open. “But thank you for saying the words anyway”

“So what is the next thing that you remember?” Hotch kept his hand on Scarlett’s. Scarlett forced herself to breath more steadily then held the hand that rested over hers.

“We were travelling through the city. I was in a car, maybe even the cab. When we stopped in front of a building I was pulled out of the vehicle. I tried to fight them but I couldn’t seem to move. They pushed me down this long corridor. It was dark, cold, and it smelled odd, like a gas station,”

“You say they pushed you. There was more than one,” 

“They were talking to each other. One of them hit me, I tried to fight back but I fell down. The voice was saying I can’t, I can’t do this,”

“Yes you can,”

“No. That was what the voice was saying. I can’t do this. And the other voice was saying we have to, we have to do this. It’s the only way, we don’t have a choice. I was hit again. I think one of them picked something up from the floor, it sounded like metal on concrete and then he hit me with it. I remember screaming, and their fists and then nothing,” Scarlett opened her eyes. “No there is something else. The second voice said we have to make them look closer. It’s how they’ll find them.”

The men let the tension in the room seep away. Hotch could see the look of anger of Rossi’s face, a look that he was trying to contain. 

“It’s not much help,” Scarlett pulled away and sat up. She reached for her glass of water her hands visibly shaking.

“More than you think,” Hotch smiled. 

“You should rest,” Rossi watched her closely. Exhaustion had made her pale even beneath the bruises and bloody cuts. Scarlett scooted down in bed

“Will you come back later?”

“Nothing will keep me away,” Rossi meant it. Stanhopes be damned if they thought they could stop him.   
Weston was waiting for them as Rossi and Hotch left the room.

“So I spoke to Mike. He seemed genuinely concerned. Apparently someone trashed her bike last night,” Weston stepped forward and pushed a path through the Stanhope lawyers that were still milling about the corridor.

“Yeah, the tyres were slashed,”

“Well Mike has it on his security cameras. Thought I’d go over and pick the footage up. Also when I spoke to Garcia to get Mike’s number I asked her to look for the cell phone. She’s picked it up and it appears to be coming from a building in Annandale. Your agents Morgan, Blake and Reid are heading over there now and I’ve got my boys backing them up. That ok?”

“Excellent detective,” Hotch called Garcia. Please to be working with an LEO who was smart and resourceful.

“Hey Daddy,” 

“Hey buddy,” Hotch stopped confused by not reaching the person he was calling. He could hear Garcia in the background.

“Jack, do it like we practised ok,” Garcia whispered. Jack had been “helping” her since Hotch was in the field. 

“Ok. You have reached the office of supreme Jackness. Prepare to be amazed,”

“Wow. I am amazed. I’ll be even more amazed when I see you, which will be soon Buddy. Is Garcia there?” he heard a lot of fumbling and Jack said something he didn’t catch.

“Hey boss man,”

“Garcia, the building you tracked the phone to, is it an industrial building?”

“Yes it is,”

“It’s probably the place Scarlett was taken. I need you to find out anything you can about who owns the building,”

“I'm already on it,”

“I also need you to look up cabs that were operating in the Founders Park Alexandria district last night around 10pm. One was used in Scarlett’s abduction. She was on foot for a couple of hours, tap in to any CCTV and see if you can find someone watching her. And the unsub wasn’t working alone. He has a partner.”

“I’ll let you know when I have something,” Garcia hung up and started tapping into the keyboard.

While Hotch had been on the phone Rossi had been catching Morgan and the rest of the team up. Everyone needed to be on their guard. If they were walking into the place were Scarlett was attacked there was no guarantees that the unsubs had left and the last thing they needed was the team walking into a trap.


	4. Getting Close to the Truth

Arriving at the address that Garcia had given them Morgan, Blake and Reid took a good look around. The red brick building was tucked away behind others and the only way in appeared to be the alley way that was in deep shadow. The snow on the pavements showed that a vehicle had been here recently. It was busy enough now during the day but at night once all the shops were closed it would have been deserted. Nice and quiet, just the way an unsub likes a location when they want privacy.

“The sign on the door says its in foreclosure, but the lock has definitely been tampered with,” as Reid pointed it out the padlock fell from the chain and the door swung open

“Officer post two of your men here and stop anyone who comes out. Another two should go round back and see if there’s another entrance or exit,” Morgan spoke quickly. “Looks like we’re going in.”

The building inside was pitch black and seemed to swallow the meagre beams from the flashlights. The smell of old diesel was over whelming, as if the building had been drenched in it. Morgan could feel himself on edge as they were funnelled further into the building. Eventually though the corridor opened up into a big room that was dominated by a rusty old piece of machinery but it wasn’t that which caught their attention. It was the dead body.  
Fanning out they made sure that the room was safe. At least here they could see more as light drifted down towards them from the grime covered skylights above.

“Clear,” Blake called from her corner of the room. “I have a metal bar on the floor here. It’s covered in blood. Judging by the blood trail it was tossed here.”

“It’s probably the murder weapon,” Morgan stepped closer taking in the blood spatter that covered the floor and the room around them. “It must have been a brutal attack”

“And yet there’s no sign that the victim tried to get away. Some of the spray is arterial,”

“His throats definitely ben cut,” Morgan spoke as he leaned over the body and took a good look. 

He felt his stomach roll as he looked at the body that was not readily identifiable as human. Suddenly the image popped into his head that it could be Scarlett lying here in this room and he couldn’t shake it away. he didn’t even know her and yet he was worrying about her. He was also worrying about Rossi too. Morgan hoped the girl was genuine and that this wasn’t some con. She also hoped that she would let Rossi have some kind of relationship with her. Rossi might be an arrogant pain in the arse sometimes but he was also a good guy and he’d been a steady shoulder to lean on when needed. Morgan knew that family was important. He couldn’t imagine life without his mom and sisters, just as he couldn’t imagine life without his BAU family. Rossi needed to have a chance at that.

“I have Scarlett’s cell phone. It’s been placed here very definitely and left on. Whoever was here wanted us to find this place.” 

“So Scarlett was what? Bait?”

“Probably but why let her live, but kill this guy. What is it about this place or this body that the unsub wanted us to see?” Morgan stepped carefully away from the body. It would take teeth or dental records to identify him. “And what does it have to do with Jack and Henry? 

“With any luck nothing. It is possible that the unsub used them just to get our attention,” Blake was hoping like hell that it was the case. She may not have been with the team as long as the others but threatening kids in any way made her angry.

“What is it Reid?” Morgan was watching the boy genius. Reid was thinking so hard that Morgan could practically hear him. 

“There’s a void in the blood spatter. Like someone was standing here,” Reid looked down towards Morgan from a small raised metal platform.

“Hotch said there was a partner,”

“Hmm, we may need to consider the possibility that there’s more than two people. Obviously we don’t know yet if the body is another victim or one of the unsubs. If it is an unsub then we’re looking at a team of three. One to die, one to kill and one to watch.”

“Holy hell,” all three agents looked up as Callas joined them. “Weston asked me to check on you guys. Looks like we’ll need the crime lab, ME and a few more badges.

CM_CM_CM

They had left Callas in charge as there was nothing more that they could do until the body was identified. The ME knew it was a priority and was going to get results to then as soon as she could. With no firm evidence to go on all they could do was hash out the possibilities and that was driving them all crazy. When their job was to imagine and prepare for the worst possible scenario it was the parents in the group, Hotch and JJ and Will that were noticeably climbing the walls. Even Rossi seemed panicked and he had known he was a father less than twenty four hours. Luckily Jack and Henry seemed almost not to notice that anything was wrong. They had after all spent the day with their parents at work and they’d had a great time being fussed over. The undivided attention of the adults was fun and actually having the kids around had cut the stress a little bit. For now Will had taken the boys down to the FBI gym so that they could run off the excess energy. But this was not a situation that could go on forever. It was times like these that they almost willed something to happen and it was if the collective force of their minds brought it into being.

“There’s a visitor to see you Agent Rossi. A Mike Hallow. Shall I show him in?” 

“Yes,” Rossi was on his feet and all eyes turned to the door. To his credit Mike Hallow didn’t back down in the face of so many federal eyes staring at him as he came in. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you at last sir,” Mike said holding out his hand to the man he knew was Scarlett’s father. Mike had known Scarlett since college and he had lived the last few months of angst over the decision to contact her father or not. Scarlett could fool everyone else into seeing the strong woman she was but Mike had known her long enough to know that beneath it all she was fragile and terrified of rejection. The front was Scarlett’s way of keeping herself safe. Mike hated that she felt the need but with a family like the Stanhope’s it was surprising that she wasn’t more of a neurotic mess. The Stanhope’s didn’t appreciate her, Mike was certain they didn’t even like her most of the time, but he knew that Scarlett had the biggest heart and Mike was glad for an excuse to come and finally meet the absent father and check him out. Scarlett was his friend, more than that, she was his family. She was his only family after he had come out and his family had disowned him. Scarlett had saved his life and he would do anything eh could to save hers which is why he had come here. 

“Scarlett told me to bring you these immediately. She woke up and they were in her room. She checked with the nurses and they knew nothing about it. Neither did the cops guarding the door,” the underlying accusation was that they weren’t doing their job.  
Mike handed over the three identical cream boxes to Rossi who laid them out on the table. Each one was a couple of feet long and tied with a red ribbon.

“Well they made it through security so we know it’s not a bomb,” Morgan said as he stepped up and pulled on gloves. Quickly he untied the ribbon and lifted the lid on the first box. Brushing aside layers of tissue paper he revealed a single long stemmed black rose and jagged fragments of what appeared to be a picture. Tipping them onto the table Morgan hastily rearranged them to form a picture of Jack. 

“I think there was something on the other side,” Reid said thinking he had caught a flash as they had tumbled out of the box. He had been right. On the back the words ‘Seek and Yea shall find’ had been printed in neat black hand writing.

The next box was identical except for a picture of Henry. The same phrase had once again been written on the back of the picture but the script was more cursive, the handwriting looser, smaller and definitely authored by another hand. In the third box was a picture of Scarlett. The same one that Rossi had. The message on the back of her picture was altogether more sinister – ‘Rest in pieces’. 

“We need to get the lab up here to dust for prints,” 

“I can’t imagine that we’ll find anything. We haven’t found a single print so far. They are being extremely careful,”

“And it’s really really annoying,”  
Reid started bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet as if super charged by an idea.

“Excuse me, Mr Hallow, Mike is it. You obviously know who agent Rossi is, I mean you know about the relationship to Scarlett Stanhope?”

“Yes,”

“And I’m assuming Scarlett told you?”

“She showed me your picture but she wouldn’t show me the file the PI put together. That was just for her,”

“Except it wasn’t,” Reid look at the team expectantly but they hadn’t caught up yet. “It would be easy to find out about Jack and Henry. You live with them. But Rossi didn’t know about Scarlett,”

“But the unsub did. Reid you are a genius,”

“If we work out how the unsub found out about Scarlett and Rossi then we can find the unsub,”

“Do you know which PI she used,”

“I don’t,” Mike shook his head

“It was Ricardo Dalton,” 

All faces spun around to see Scarlett shuffling her way into the room dressed in jeans and a worn Oxford University sweatshirt. 

“I told you that you had to stay in bed,” Mike took her bag from her and dropped it onto the floor.

“And I chose to ignore you Mike. You should be used to it by now. It’s why you find me adorable,” Scarlett wrapped her arms around her friend for support as much as for comfort. The team watched as Scarlett pulled a small folded piece of paper from her pocket. “Besides this was left in my bathroom in the hospital”

“May I?” Reid leaned forward and eased the paper from her fingers.

“Hello again,” Scarlett said softly and allowed Mike to guide her into a chair and she watched as Reid smiled briefly before unfolding the old newspaper clipping and spread it out on the table.

“Don’t mind the boy genius, he gets carried away,” JJ said. 

“Excuse me while I go and have words with a couple of my soon be demoted officers,” Weston was not happy. His men were supposed to be guarding Scarlett Stanhope. Instead they had not only been remiss enough to allow packages to be delivered direct to her room, but the unsub had got all the way to the bathroom to leave love notes. His men should be thankful that this guy whoever he was just needed to talk. If a gun or knife had been involved a woman would have been dead. And if that wasn’t bad enough they had not even noticed that she’d left the hospital. Yes, he was going to tear them a new one and he was probably going to enjoy it as well. As he stood around choosing his words carefully he watched Garcia walk past him and head for the round room. Suddenly he lost track of his thoughts. She was one hell of a woman and from what he had found out she was single. Not for much longer if he had anything to do with it.

“I have news people,” Garcia said as she hustled into the room. “Well hello. Welcome to the family,”

“Thanks,” 

“What do you have for us Garcia?”

“The building is owned by a Tim Bridges. And I have just had word from the ME that the body in the building was Mr Tim Bridges. He was in the system because ten years ago he was a suspect in the murder of his wife and children,” 

“He was found innocent,” Reid said vaguely.

“How do you know?” Garcia looked crest fallen that the junior g man knew more than she did. I mean it was inevitable but she liked being able to surprise them.

“It’s written here in the article which was written after the inquest in 2003,” Reid was still staring at the paper. “It explains that the family were killed in an arson attack on the house. Accelerants were used that caused the fire to burn so hot that their bodies were never found. Bridges always maintained that his family weren’t home and that they had been abducted. He was committed in 2004 after suffering a psychotic break,” 

“Bridges was released six months ago into a halfway in house from which he promptly disappeared,” Garcia hit the button that would email all the info to the team.

“Ok. Garcia, find us everything you can about this case and what Tim Bridges has been doing for the last six months. Dave, can you work with Scarlett to get a list of everyone who might know she was trying to find you. Morgan and Blake, go to Dalton’s office and find out what he knows.

“I’d like to go with them. He’s an ex cop and while we’re not friends I do know him,” Weston offered. 

“Thank you. JJ and Reid, I want you sifting through the information as Garcia finds it. There are still far more questions than answers and time is moving on. And until we know what the intentions are towards Jack, Henry and Scarlett I don’t want any of us to be isolated. There’s safety in numbers so no one leaves this building alone,”

“Can I suggest a BAU house party tonight? Everyone can come and stay. I have plenty of rooms and great internet connection. That includes you of course,” Dave turned to Scarlett. His daughter, and for the first time he reached out and touched her. “I don’t imagine for one moment that we can talk you back into hospital”

“I hate hospitals. Ever since mum died,” 

“Ok. So if we haven’t solved the case by tonight we’ll all stay at Dave’s. For now let’s get to work,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for everyone whose been reading so far. If you have any suggestions or comments I'd love to hear them - this is my first fanfic so I'd love to know what you think


	5. A Father-Daughter Moment

“Let’s talk in my office. We can make you comfortable on the sofa,” Dave helped Scarlett to her feet concerned that she had turned an odd shade of grey. Mike had seen it too and was trying to walk a fine line between concern and overbearing care.

“When was the last time you ate Scarlett?”

She thought about it but let it go. Walking and thinking and talking at the same time was just too difficult to do at the moment. Everything hurt, everything ached but she had never been more happy than to get out of the hospital. She spotted the sofa and knew that if she could make it that far she would be just fine. She had been fighting back the pain so hard that she hadn’t realised that Rossi’s arm was wrapped around her holding her up until the arm slowly lowered her to the sofa. Mike was there as well as she closed her eyes and caught her breath.

“Scarlett, I’m going to go and get you something to eat and I’ll come right back. If that’s ok sir,” Mike wasn’t sure what to make of Rossi so he was earring on the side of caution.

“I think you should call me Dave,” 

“Mike,” Scarlett breathed and reached out for him, her eyes still closed.

“Yeah Pippy,” Mike soothed her bangs away from her face but he kept his concern that she was running a fever to himself. If he pushed her to go back to hospital she would dig her heels in and be as stubborn as a mule.

“Get food for Dave and the team. My credit card’s in my bag,” 

“I got this one,”

“You’re a life saver,”

“Just returning the favour,” Mike gave her a brief kiss on her forehead before disappearing off.   
Rossi had watched the exchange with interest. He wanted to drink in everything about her. Scarlett was bewitching. She was also in a lot of pain. Grabbing the pillow and blanket he kept hidden for emergencies he got her as comfortable as he could. 

“We’re supposed to talk about how I found you,”

“If you need to rest it can wait,” Dave was calculating in his head how long it would take him to get her back to hospital if he needed to. 

“This is important.” Scarlett reached out to steady herself. Rossi wondered if she could feel that everything stopped for that smallest of touches. “Grandmother was supposed to tell me, about you, when I was eighteen but she told me she didn’t know. She told me that the Stanhope’s were all the family I needed. She lied. After years of asking I got tired of waiting,”

“So you hired Dalton. But if you didn’t know anything about me where did he start looking?”

“I did know some things about you. You were the topic of my last conversation with mom,” Scarlett pulled the blanket around her and adjusted her position trying to ease the pain in the side. 

“How old were you when she died?” his voice soft he wanted to sooth her at the same time he was unsure that he should be talking about this at all.

“I thought you would know. That Garcia would have dug up everything she could find,”

“She did and I realised that as much as I want to know all those things about you, I want you to be the one to tell me. I want to know everything. I’m sorry I wasn’t there. 

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t know. No one told you. Mom said she never told you,” Scarlett let her eyes drift closed for a moment. “I was eight when she died. She’d already had cancer for a couple of years but the treatment was no longer working and she had come back to the Stanhope ranch to die. I was only supposed to see her when supervised but one night and crept out of my bed and into hers. We cuddled up together and I asked if I could go and live with my father. That was when she told me that you didn’t know about me. I begged her for details and all she told me was that you were Italian American, that she had worked with you and that you were a good man with a broken heart. She told me that I would know everything else when I turned eighteen, that Grandmother would tell me who you were. She also told me that I shouldn’t worry about finding you. She was right.”

“So from two bits of information Dalton found me,” Rossi made a mental note that it was impressive.

“It took a while,” Scarlett felt fuzzy. Like she wasn’t entirely inhabiting her own body correctly. “I need you to know that I don’t expect anything from you. I don’t need money and I’ve looked after myself for forever, but I would like to get to know you. And I hope you want to get to know me too.”

“I want that. But you’re going to have to let me take care of you, just a little bit. I’m glad you found me. Very glad. Happy. I’m blown away. But I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to see you grow up,” Dave realised that he was a lot more than sorry. He was angry, at Sasha and at Selena Stanhope. 

They had cheated him. His daughter was thirty, just a few months older than Reid but unlike Reid’s father who had walked away from his responsibilities and abandoned his child David Rossi hadn’t even been allowed to be a father. He had missed the first step, the first word, he hadn’t been with her when she had looked at colleges and he wondered if anyone else had. He had not been there when she'd graduated or for any of the small things like helping her with her homework, teaching her to drive, or just listen to her talk when she needed to talk. He hadn’t been able to play the protective father and scare her boyfriends by having a ‘friendly chat’ with them. He couldn’t imagine that he could do that now – another experience he would never have. He didn’t even know if she had someone to share her life with. Mike was a good friend (but he’d do a background check anyway) but there was no mention of a significant other. And what happened when she did find someone? Would she still want him around? The possibility of not being in her life was a frightening one. He had been denied the opportunity to contribute to the life of Scarlett and it wasn’t just him. Dave was going to have to break the news to his family and he realised that they had missed out too. Scarlett should know her Rossi relations. She needed to know that if she ever needed anything that there would always be someone there who would have her back; that there would be no judgement, just plenty of good advice, red wine, pasta and love. 

Scarlett woke with a start from her doze. She didn’t know how long she had been out of it only that she was very comfortable where she was but she became increasingly aware that someone was watching her. When she finally got her eyes to focus she realised that it was David Rossi, that made this the BAU and there was something she was supposed to be doing.

“The list,” Scarlett forced herself to focus. God she hoped Mike would get back soon with food. Scarlett scoured her own memory. “Other than Dalton I’m certain the only other person who knew I was looking for my father was Mike and trust me when I say that he is very good at keeping secrets.”

“You didn’t tell anyone? Friends? The family?”

“I don’t have a lot of friends, that sounds pathetic but I prefer quality over quantity. And this was too important to talk about. I needed to know before I said anything to anyone. As for the family, I certainly didn’t tell them but I suppose grandmother could have had me followed or monitored my emails. She’s done it before,”

“At some point we’ll talk about that but not now. I don’t think I could handle it,” Dave thrust a lid on the anger. The list of misdemeanours he was going to shout at the Stanhope’s for was growing steadily. “How did you find Dalton?”

“I did a lot of research into a number of PI’s. Daltons name was mentioned repeatedly in connection to cases where people were looking for long lost family members, birth parents and the like. He had a good success rate so I called him and we met up. I didn’t use my real name at first but I liked him so I hired him,”

“What do you know about the way Dalton works?”

“He covers most of the work himself but his assistant, who I also met, is his online researcher. Everything she does is covered by a non disclosure agreement, same as Dalton. Sometimes he uses outside help but he stressed that everything they do is under the umbrella of compete confidentiality.”

“I think he has a leak,”

“But you can make it right,” it was the last thing she said before she drifted off to sleep.

Dave stepped out of his office for a moment needing to catch his breath and clear his thoughts. He felt like his whole body and mind was on over load. 

“You ok?” Hotch’s words made him jump.

“I have no answer to that question. You don’t look so good yourself,”

“I got pulled into a meeting with the director. He’s not pleased,” Hotch rested against the railings separating them from eth rest of the bull pen. “I should tell you that Selena Stanhope has filed a formal complaint against you.”

“What for? Defiling her daughter thirty years ago?”

“I don’t want to know the details Dave but I did have to inform the director about the family connection. Something Mrs Stanhope had neglected to mention. He shut up once I gave him proof,”

“Proof?” Dave had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what Hotch had to say next.

“When I was at the hospital this morning I got the nurses to get me a blood sample. I had the lab compare it to yours that we have on file. Scarlett is most definitely your daughter,” Hotch met his friend and colleagues gaze straight on. Dave looked like he was going to not only hit Hotch but pummel him into a pulp. “This situation involves Jack. I had to be sure of what we were dealing with.”

Rossi looked away and calmed down. Once again he was lost for words because Hotch had been right to do what he’d done. It occurred to him that he hadn’t really question the veracity of Scarlett’s parentage and he had never thought that she would not be his. He had totally accepted it. It was almost as if he had always known, or at least suspected. Telling himself that as a father you do what you have to do to protect your child. They were both pulled out of their stupor by the insistent ringing of Hotch’s phone.

“Hotchner,” his brow furrowed as he listened to Morgan. The furrow deepened as JJ made her way quickly towards them. “I’ll call you back Morgan.”  
Snapping the phone shut Hotch turned to Dave. 

“Dalton is dead and it looks like the unsub was at his office. I need to get down there. What have you got for us JJ?”

“You need to see this,”

CM_CM_CM 

Gathered around the screens in Garcia’s office they waited until the door was firmly closed before Garcia started talking. Hotch had called Morgan back and he was sure that he and Blake would need to hear the news as well.

“Bridges was right. 

“About what?”

“About his family not being in the fire. 

“It appeared to be a pretty straight forward case of arson which is why the police never looked into it. It was also the only case in Virginia which again is why the cops looked at Bridges as a possible suspect. By the time he was cleared of suspicion the case was cold and as far as the LEOs were concerned it was closed,” JJ spoke quickly. 

“But of course nothing is ever truly closed to someone like moi so I was thinking that if the family were alive where would they be now. And that is how I found them. Or rather their bodies because the corpses of a woman and three children were found in Arizona of all places not long after Bridges was committed. The DNA profiles of the bodies were done but they never got a hit back from the database because they were never classified as missing,” Garcia knew that she was rocking this case.

“So assuming that Bridges is one of the unsubs, the death of his family would appear to fit the message that was left on the back of Scarlett’s picture. It also suggests that he or one of the other unsubs knew his family was dead,” JJ filled in.

“Bridges made a number of reports and statements to the police,” Reid pointed to a foot high stack of papers. “Most recently though he made a number of posts online in chat rooms and forums some of which relate to bereavement but most are conspiracy theory forums. The most interesting thing to note was that in the most recent posts he mentions two other familes. Scott and Whitehall”

“Garcia any info…”

“We are one step ahead of you Captain and yes. The Scott family were killed in an accelerant fuelled fire in Boise, Idaho last year. The Whitehall family were killed in exactly the same way in Spokane Washington three years ago. Both fires were the exact same MO,”

“So were dealing with a serial killer who abducts families and then uses fire in order to cover up his crime. 

“It’s significant that he leaves the fathers behind. As if they are insignificant, or don’t exist.”

“To the unsub they probably don’t. It may be that he is stepping into the place of the father. The family becomes his own for as long as he sustains the fantasy. Then he kills them,” Reid couldn’t help but think that Tolstoy would think this an apt example of his thoughts on families.

“Have you noticed something else boss?” Garcia asked, her voice tight as she hesitated against his response. “All the families had an eldest daughter and two sons.” 

“So he has a specific paradigm he’s looking for. Morgan is there any record of Bridges, Scott or Whitehall at Dalton’s office?” Hotch said speaking clearly into the phone. From the other end of the line they listened to Morgan and Blake move around Dalton’s office.

“Hotch,” Morgan’s voice was loud and clear. “There’s a file with the name of Sam Scott.

In Dalton’s office Morgan rested the paper file on the edge of the desk ignoring the body who had been shot twice in the head execution style. He flicked through it quickly.

“Hotch, it’s definitely our guy but Dalton was coming up with nothing,”

“Ok. So Dalton is the link. Scott must have been frustrated that Dalton had found noting. Somehow he found out that Scarlett was relate to Rossi which gave him a direct link to the FBI and the BAU. He must have thought that approaching us directly wouldn’t get him our help,”

“Not surprising given the police history on these cases,” JJ scoffed. She hated it when LEOs didn’t take cases seriously. Resources may be stretched but there really was no excuse. 

“So the unsubs are leading us to another unsub,” 

“Morgan, are there any contact details for Sam Scott in the file?” Hotch could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins like lightening, electrifying him. it was always like this once he knew what they were up against. Having focus and purpose to a clear destination felt good, for no other reason than it made him feel like a resolution was possible and that catching the bad guy was in the immediate future

“Looks like this guy moved around a lot but all with the DC area. I have a last known address and a phone number that Dalton’s note says is disconnected,” 

“Get Weston or Callas to process Dalton’s office and send me the address. We’ll meet you and Blake there. No one goes in until the team is assembled is that clear?”


	6. Getting Warmer...

Sam Scott’s address was a pay by the week motel not far from the navy base. Judging by the glazed eyes and the grubby wife-beater worn by the manager it was also the kind of place that didn’t ask too many questions. Every transaction was strictly cash. At the sight of the black SUV’s arriving a number of the clientele, mostly prostitutes and their clients, tried to beat a hasty retreat but the uniforms gathered them up for questioning. In the face of half a dozen FBi agents the manager had folded like a cheap suit and given them Scott’s room number. Sending Morgan and Reid to cover the rear in case Scott should try to escape Hotch lead the rest of the team up the stairs and onto the second floor landing.

“FBI. Open the door Mr Scott,” Hotch banged on it with his fist. He waited but there was no answer. Hotch nodded to Dave to indicate that they were going in. Waiting only as long as it took for one of the uniforms to kick the door in Hotch lead the charge into the single room. Stepping passed the dead body on the bed Hotch moved quickly to the closet and threw open the doors.

“Clear,” he shouted then he moved into the small bathroom that was the only other room. There was blood here too, lots of it. with his heart beating in his throat Hotch pulled the shower curtain aside. The stall was empty. “Clear”

“The body is still warm,” Rossi checked the pulse but the body was still beneath his fingers. “Looks like he’s been beaten to death with someone’s bare fists.”

“Check the body and the room for ID,” Hotch stood in the centre of the room taking in all the details. The trash can was filled with food wrappers and take out boxes that spilled out onto the floor around it. A small bag of clothes was on the dresser but none of them had been put away in either the closet or the dresser. Rossi was going through them now, checking the pockets for a drivers license, receipts, anything that would give them a clue about who the man was and where he had been. Hotch’s earlier euphoria from following the lead was evaporating quickly as they appeared to have lead them nowhere. The bed clothes had been stripped from the bed, the body lying on the only sheet that remained. The body itself was lying face down on the left side of the bed. Whoever it was had obviously been flipped over after the attack, the void in the blood a clear indicator that he had originally been lying on his back in the middle of the bed. 

“Hotch I’ve got something,” Rossi said as he pulled a receipt from a storage unit along with a padlock key. They had been put away in the inside pocket of the bag. The name on the receipt was Whitehall; the second man who lost his family to a very clever unsub. Was that the identity of the body in the bed? Rossi handed them over and finished his search. “The address is just a couple of blocks away.”

Hotch and Rossi left the room and stepped out. Morgan and Reid had jumped in a were talking to the other ‘guests’ trying to find out what they knew. One by one they were letting them go only they were getting more skittish as a news van pulled up. The last thing they needed was potential witnesses to clam up but he need not have worried as JJ was in there immediately fending them off and creating a wall of blue uniforms between the news crew and the hotel. Blake was once again in the manager’s office charming him out of any information that he had. Hotch was thankful that his team worked so seamlessly together. It was one of his greatest joys in working with this team, that he could trust them all to work hard and do their best for the case. The concern that once again the director was looking for a way to split the team up surfaced momentarily. For some reason this case appeared to provide ammunition for the argument. Hotch didn’t fully understand it and now was not the time to be thinking it over. When they had solved the case, when another bad guy was behind bars, then he would get to the root of the directors problem.

Pulling the team together they formed a huddle in the middle of the hotel parking lot. 

“No one saw anything no one heard anything,” Morgan stated simply aware that his frustration was showing.

“The manager thinks that another man was staying in the room with Scott but he’s a little hazy on the details. They’re not selling his particular brand of cigarettes at seven-eleven if you catch my drift,” Blake had almost choked on the thick acrid smoke that had filled his office. The stoner had most definitely been stoned.

“It seems likely that the dead man is Clyde Whitehall. We found a receipt for a local storage unit in his belongings,” Hotch’s words precise and clear. “Could the manager tell you how long they’ve been in the room?”

“Two days,”

“It has to be longer than that. Judging by the food cartons and rubbish they’ve been there longer than two days. Or there’s more than two men and they had a guest,”

“There’s one thing I don’t understand about the murders,” Rossi’s voice took on that honeyed hushed quality it had when he was voices thoughts that were not yet fully formed. “It doesn’t make sense that Scott would kill these men. They have a common bond, a unique set of circumstances that have bound them together. They aren’t competitors and they aren’t adversaries. They should be brothers in arms so why kill them?”

“It is possible that Sam Scott isn’t doing this willingly,” Reid spoke wetting his lips. “It’s a viable theory that in their efforts to lead us to the unsub they drew attention to themselves and brought the unsub to them.” 

“So the unsub is finally killing the fathers because he threatens to expose him,” suggested Morgan.

“I’ve also calculated that it’s possible that the Scott family is still alive. For the fantasy to seem real the unsub would only want to have one family at a time. He probably only took the Whitehall family once the Bridges family were already dead. The Scott family have been missing for a year, 379 days to be precise, and while the unsub has kept each family for a reduced amount of time I don’t think he would be ready to give up the fantasy yet. He needs to find their replacements first.”

“And we need to find him before he does.”


	7. Working From Home

They had moved the base of operations to Rossi’s house so that Hotch, Will and JJ could take care of the kids and keep them with them. Rossi had cooked dinner keeping a watchful eye on Scarlett who had fallen asleep on his sofa oblivious of the team working around her. She had woken up long enough to shoo her friend Mike away as he was supposed to be flying off on a buying trip for the gallery and not looking after her. He had protested but she had finally convinced him to go but not before he made sure that Rossi had all of his details and had promised to call if there was an emergency. With Jack and Henry in bed and finally asleep the team gathered around the table. Rossi thought twice about waking Scarlett but she needed to eat. Helping her to the table he put her in the seat next to him. 

“This is amazing,” Scarlett said tucking into lasagne with more enthusiasm than style.

“Dave is great cook,” 

“I can tell. Life is a combination of magic and pasta. Fellini,” she said taking another bite.

“You like Fellini?” Garcia asked taking a long sip of her wine, happy that another day was drawing to a close and all her babies were still safe. They had kept her busy all day but she had still found time to do a very thorough background check on Scarlett; she wasn’t going to let just anyone near to her family. Garcia wasn’t going to allow anyone to take advantage of her Italian Stallion. The fact that her research may have included a little too much information about Sasha Stanhope was not something that she would be sharing with Dave, or the rest of the team. She was simply doing her job and making sure that she was well informed.

“I like Fellini. I like all things Italian,” Scarlett stole a glance at David from beneath her lowered lashes. She could feel herself blush. She was thankful when someone’s phone rang. Everyone went quiet as Hotch took his call and waited until he could share.

“Ok. That was Detective Weston. The body was definitely Clyde Whitehall and the storage unit contained the bodies of the rest of the family. The unit was rented just before the Scott family fire so your theory was right Reid, the unsub does hang on to the family until he has a replacement. It also appears that he is taking on the identities of the father. While the unit was rented under the name of Clyde Whitehall, it was not the man who died. It’s our unsub. Weston’s pulling any CCTV footage and the sign in logs to see if we can identify him.” 

“So we’re looking for two Sam Scott’s?”

“It would appear so,” Hotch said. “As soon as we’ve finished eating I want the whole team working on the profile of the original killer. If he is replacing his own family then we need to find out who this guy originally was. It will hopefully tell us where he might be keeping the Scott family,”

“And where we can find him,”

They ate quickly and cleared away. Garcia requisitioning the table for her not one, not two but three computers. Scarlett tucked herself into an arm chair in the corner of the room content to watch the scene as it played out in front of her. She was surprised that she was not more shocked by the content of the conversations they were having or of the crime scene photographs they were passing around. Maybe it was because she was tired or maybe she was curious or maybe reading all of Rossi’s books had made her slightly immune to the gore. She drank them all in watching them, familiarising herself with these people. 

Hotch was the strong silent type, the one who reminded her most of her Stanhope relations and yet he appeared to be using the alpha male kill instinct for something more than just gathering money and power. Hotch had his head together with JJ and from what Scarlett could tell they were going over details of a potential press conference. They were also both the parents in the group and therefore had other considerations that the rest of the team would empathise with but not fully understand. JJ’s husband Will, the man with the sexy Louisiana accent, was reading up on everything they had found so far. Blake was also going back over everything they had found so far, sifting through the information again and again, putting it together in different ways. Scarlett was watching Blake’s lips move as the woman had a silent dialogue with herself. Garcia’s conversation with her computers was a lot less silent as she hammered away at the keys stopping long enough to throw information or a question to the team. Her relationship with Morgan was interesting to say the least. Morgan struck her as a man who was judged on his looks. He was handsome and obviously kept himself in shape but there was a deep soul behind the façade which would only be seen by those who looked close. The boy genius was another one where there was significantly more than met the eye. He was pouring over a map, flitting from file to file, sinking deep in thought, before moving on. He was fascinating to watch and Scarlett found herself wanting to photograph all of them. It was after all not only her job but her passion; it was her way of understanding the world and people.

Finally her eyes rested on David Rossi. He was almost languid in his consideration of the issues at hand but his inertia hid the fact that he was listening to every conversation and watching every movement that his team made. He was aware of all of them and took their contributions equally. Then it hit Scarlett. These were her father’s family, more so than she was. They were the people who he spent every day with and as such there was a shared history that she found herself jealous of. After a strict talking to, inside her own head, she reminded herself that she needed to get to know these people and resentment was going to get in the way. More importantly she wanted to know these people. They were good, bright, funny and obviously loyal. They had all checked her out in their own ways, assessing just what her intentions towards David Rossi were. That was simple. Scarlett wanted what they had; she wanted to know him, she wanted him to know her and she hoped, that maybe, he might one day love her as a daughter in the way she was already afraid that she loved him as a father. She needed him and she was the kind of woman who didn’t need anything. She was also afraid, that he wouldn’t want her, or need her, or love her. Aware that tears were pricking her eyes Scarlett curled herself up into a ball and feigned sleep.


	8. Breaking Through

“I don’t think we have a choice any more. We’re going to need to put out some information about this guy,” Hotch was furrowing his brow. They were close but not close enough and alerting the press was not something he wanted to do when their kids were involved.

“We can send out a general bulletin to the field offices and nationwide to all the LEOs,” JJ said. “I’ll put something together. I’m assuming the director will want to check it for language and sign it off before we distribute it.”

There was a knock at the door and when Rossi came to answer it he found Detective Weston standing there

“Come on in,” Rossi stood aside to allow the detective into the hub of activity.

“CCTV footage from the storage unit and the updated ME reports on Bridges, Whitehall and Whitehall’s wife and kids,”

“Excellent,” Reid pounced on the files and took them out of the detectives hand. Reid settled himself down and started skimming the pages, assimilating the information rapidly.

“I’ve also had a conversation with the ME who did the original examination of the Bridges family remains,”

“Argh! I am seriously upset right now,” Garcia threw down her headset then picked it up immediately and shoved it back onto her head. No one approached her as her steely look of determination set in again.

“Is something wrong?” Weston asked in a whisper.

“Don’t mind her. The information superhighway is taking her nowhere and she’s taking it personally,” JJ said with a smile. “You said something about the security footage from the storage unit.”

Weston handed over the disks as JJ set up the TV and DVD player to watch them.

“I warn you. They’re not labelled in any way and are in no order. He can’t even tell me how many weeks worth of footage he has. And it’s not date stamped either but if you look in the back of the picture you’ll see the date and time on the clock. What can I say except they obviously don’t want to make thing easy for us.”

As he spoke Weston took a detour by Garcia’s temporary work area. Without so much as a look or a word he dropped a small pink patisserie box on the table next to her. Garcia blinked with surprise as Weston was already walking away his attention moving to the footage on the TV screen. Dear God she thought, that man has broad shoulders. Looking inside the box Garcia saw a single red velvet cup cake with glittered pink frosting and topped with a pair of edible, glittering ruby slippers. It was perfect and flipped her mood right around. Garcia saw Derek watching her and closed the box hoping to signal to him with that small gesture that questions were not to be asked and comments were not to be made. Garcia focussed again on the screen determined to get to the information she knew was in there somewhere and doing her best to hide the goofy smile.

“Do we have the sign in sheets for the storage unit so we can find the specific dates and times we need?” JJ paused the grainy footage thinking that even of they did find the unsub on there the quality was going to be bad.

“I have the boxes in my car. And if you think the disks were disorganised you ain’t seen nothing yet,”

“Let me help you carry them in,” Will set the file he was working on aside and stretched, happy to be doing something physical.

An hour later more coffee was being made and pie was being warmed in the oven. There was less talk as the long day and the short night previously were catching up with them all. It was just after nine but it felt much later. Most of the security footage had been watched but so far no unsub.   
Rossi took advantage of the lull in proceedings to check on Scarlett who hadn’t moved in the last hour. Crouching down he saw the evidence of tears on her cheeks. She had been crying. Was she in pain or was it something else? Rossi’s heart ached at the thought of it. There was nothing he wouldn’t give just to focus on her right now and willed the case to be over soon.

“Scarlett, you should be sleeping in bed,” Rossi smiled at the small murmur. He needed to get her upstairs but didn’t want to wake her. Garcia was suddenly at his shoulder.

“My caramel Adonis, I need your muscles,”

“Anything for you baby girl,” 

“Can you carry Rossi junior upstairs without waking the sleeping beauty,”

“You know I can. Which room’s she in?”

“She’s sharing with me. We’re across the hall from you and the boy wonder. I’ll help get her settled,”

“Thanks Kitten,” Dave kissed Garcia affectionately on the forehead. 

“And maybe when I get back the little program I’ve just written will have something to show me,” Garcia said, her tone vaguely threatening towards the pile of plastic and circuits that was the source of her current frustrations.

Rossi was tense with anxiety as watched Morgan crouch down and carefully placed one arm under Scarlett’s knees and one around her back. Lifting her Morgan heard Scarlett’s soft whimper as the movement stressed her bruised and injured body. She should be in hospital but stubbornness was obviously a Rossi family trait. Morgan was aware of how fragile she felt in his arms, and of the burning look of concern Rossi was covered in. Moving slowly Morgan followed Garcia and carried Scarlett to the room at the far end of the house. By the time he arrived at the bed Garcia had already pulled down the covers so Morgan only had to lower her in. Tucking the woman in Garcia hustled them both out of the room. 

“Thank you, my chivalrous knight,” Garcia gave him a peck on the cheek

“So what’s going on between you and the detective?”

“Are you jealous sugar plum?” Garcia smiled her sweetest smile 

“Don’t avoid the question,” Morgan loomed over her. “I’m just looking out for you. You know how protective I am about my baby girl”

“I know and I love it but you don’t intimidate me Derek Morgan. I know that as bad ass as you are on the outside, inside you’re as gooey as chocolate sauce,” Garcia licked her lips. 

“And just as delicious.”

“So?”

“So what?”

“What’s going on with the detective? You might as well just answer me because I’m not going to let it slide,”

“Fine. So far there’s been a couple of very entertaining phone calls and he’s given me the world’s most perfect cupcake. Which looks as yummy as he is,”

“So you like him?”

“I do,” Garcia felt all fluttery. It was nice, exciting. 

“Then when this is over I might just have to take him for a beer,” Morgan did not have to add that he would interrogate the detective until he had either driven him away or proved that Weston was good enough for his baby girl. 

“You take such good care of me,” Garcia couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have a friend like her baby boy. They were kindred spirits. “Can you believe Rossi has a kid?”

“No, but the odds were in his favour of it happening,” the comment got him a poke in the ribs. “So what do you know about her that the rest of us don’t”

“A lot, but I’m not going to tell you. I think we should get to know her the regular way. We wouldn’t profile Henry or Jack because they’re family, and so is Scarlett. It can’t have been easy for her, meeting Rossi like this. I mean if you were going to meet your dad for the first time would you want it to be when a psychopath has beaten the crap out of you. And it can’t be easy with all of us. We’re so close and she’s sort of on the outside,”

“What are you planning baby girl?”

“I just think that we should help things along,”

“It’s up to Rossi, Baby Girl. But I understand what you’re saying. We can do something to say hi,” Morgan slung an arm around Garcia’s shoulder as they walked back to the main room where the enticing aromas of coffee and chocolate peanut butter pie were waiting for them. Grabbing a slice Garcia went back to her computers. She was greeted by the confirmation that she had at last found what they were looking for. 

“At last. I was starting to think the gods of the internet had deserted me,” Garcia beamed with happiness. At her cry of joy the team all gathered around the screens.

“I have a news article about a family in Georgetown Texas that perished in a house fire three months before the Bridges family were taken. It fits his type exactly a daughter and two boys. The father was the only survivor. In fact, oh my,”

“What is it Garcia?” 

“He was the cause. Rick Chamberlain shot his wife when he caught her trying to leave him. He locked the children in the house and then set fire to it. He was inside and the police report says that he intended to kill himself but when a neighbour saw the smoke he ran into the building and pulled Chamberlain out. Chamberlain escaped while under arrest and has been on the run ever since.”

The family photo from the police file showed a family exactly like the others. Mom, Dad and three kids, all smiling and taken in happier times. Why couldn’t people just stay happy? Garcia wondered to herself. 

“If he killed his wife it would explain the ME’s findings. The bodies of the mothers showed signs that they had been deceased far longer than their children,”

“So he takes the family and kills the mother,”

“It would make sense. As the adult the mother would be more resistant to him, and would be vocal about leaving. Killing her would also help to keep the children under his control. An implied threat of what was to come but as they get older they become harder to control so he kills them and starts again.”

“So it’s the children who are most important in his fantasy,”

“You know, I’m sure that I’ve seen him before,” JJ said leaning into the screen. “He’s on the storage unit tapes but he didn’t sign in as Scott, or any of the other alias’.”  
JJ rushed back to the footage and started searching for the one she was looking for. 

Garcia typed the name ‘Rick Chamberlain’ into one of her other machines. She was looking for any current information that would pin point a location. They had assumed that he would be using Sam Scott’s name but of the dozens of Sam and Samuel Scott’s they had found in the DC and Virginia area they had all checked out and none of them was their guy. A handful of Rick Chamberlains popped out of the system but again none of them were their guy.

“Do you think he’s found another family already?” Weston directed his question to Hotch who was keeping one eye on what his tech analyst was doing

“It’s possible. He’s already operating outside of his usual MO because of the pressure that Scott, Whitehall and Bridges put on him but up to now he has been meticulous in planning and execution and he has been smart enough to go undetected,”

“I have it,” JJ paused the shot. It was definitely the unsub.

“What name did he use to sign in to the unit?” 

“Edward Hunter,” JJ finally found what she was looking for in the piles of papers. 

“Edward Hunter,” Garcia said the name out loud as she tapped it out in the keyboard. “nothing”

“Nothing. Are you sure?” the words were ground out from between Hotch’s teeth. 

“No financial transactions, of any kind. No movement in the bank accounts, no hotel bills or even any reservations, no credit card receipts. No vehicles, no parking tickets. This guy is totally off grid, under any name. Except maybe,”

Hotch knew it was a good idea to just shut up and wait when Garcia went all silent. There was generally a good reason. Working across all three machines she was a little dervish as pounded away at the keyboard. 

“Wait. I have a lease for a family home rented in the name of Scott Hunter. It was signed two weeks ago. The house is in Lake Ridge. It was paid for in cash. The lease has another two weeks to run,”

“Hotch, that has to be him,” Morgan 

“A hybrid name. He’s getting ready to make the change,”

“Let’s stop him before he does,”


	9. Unsubs & Other Unfortunate Events

Leaving Will and Garcia at the house to watch the kids with Callas and two units outside the team piled into the black SUV’s and headed to the address in Lake Ridge. Hotch and Morgan both drove faster than was necessary but they didn’t want a repeat of the motel where they arrived late and missed capturing the unsub. It had been a day to try the nerves and they were eager to get the case wrapped up. This was one of those cases that was never going to feel like a win. The unsub had been active for so long without anyone being aware of what he was doing. People had died, including children, and their lives had been taken for no good reason. 

Garcia knew that she wouldn’t be able to sleep until her team was home and safe again so she made herself a cup of soothing camomile tea and waited while monitoring their progress through their screens. Will was pacing knowing that he couldn’t be in the field with them because he wasn’t part of the BAU was one thing but he hated the waiting and he hated not knowing. All he could think about was that JJ might get hurt and he was miles away unable to stop it.

“Where is everyone,” Scarlett shuffled into the kitchen. She had woken in a strange bed with no recollection of how she had got there. Uncomfortable in her clothes she had got up to use the bathroom, change the dressings on her wounds (which had taken far longer than it should have done but the cast on her arm hindered her fine motor skills) and then she had changed into her pyjama’s. She had been back in bed five minutes when she realised that she was thirsty and so shuffled her way to the main room.

“We may have found the bastard so my elite team of super heroes have gone to kick his ass,” Morgan’s chuckle in her ear let Garcia know that he had heard her over her head set.

“Tell them to be careful,” Scarlett found a mug in the cupboard.

“Scarlett says take care of yourselves. She says she’ll help me ignore you all if any of you get hurt,” Garcia broke into a broad grin as she listened to whatever the team were saying back. 

“How are you feeling chere?” 

“Not so great but I’ll live. Thank you for asking. I’m actually glad to be moving around. I’m stiff from sleeping in one position too long,” Scarlett limped her way around the room trying to stretch out her abused muscles. A couple of circuits later and she was loosening up at last. The pain from her surgery was not inconsiderable but she felt almost clear headed for the first time in twenty four hours. However shaking from the effort of walking and keeping her pain at bay she sank down into a chair opposite Garcia. 

“Is it me or does the waiting suck,”

“No it’s not you. I’m a detective for the DC police but I still don’t know if knowing what they might meet makes the waiting worse or better,”

“So how long will we have to wait?”

“The team is almost there,”

They were no more than three minutes out from the location when they were flanked by a fire truck it’s lights filling the night sky. Hotch pressed further on the accelerator sure that they were heading to the same place. Sure enough they were. Pulling up in the street two fire trucks were dousing the building with water. Morgan was out of his vehicle and running towards the house before Hotch and the other car had stopped. Morgan grabbed the first fire fighter he saw.

“There may be people inside” he yelled above the roar of engine and the raging spitting heat of fire and steam. Morgan didn’t catch what the fire fighter said but just followed the direction the man pointed in. Morgan pushed through the emergency responders to an ambulance and a couple of EMT’s who had their hands full. In the back of the ambulance huddled three very frightened children. A man that Morgan recognised as Sam Scott was being checked over as parts of his arms and back appeared burned. On seeing Morgan, Sam Scott put himself between the agent and what was left of his family.

“I had to do it. He told me I could keep them if I could get them out,”

“Where is the unsub Mr Scott? Did he say where he was going?” Morgan held the man up as he asked the questions. Despite the urgency for answers he had nothing but compassion for Scott. The man had lost his family, had his home burned and judging by the body bag would be burying his wife. There were scars that would stay with him and his children forever but he had kept the faith and ultimately he had saved his children’s lives. Morgan could tell that the rest of the team were behind him, all eyes focussed on Scott who as unable to focus on anything.

“Mr Scott. I need you to concentrate. Where is the man who did this to you? What else did he say to you? You need to help us so that this doesn’t happen again”   
Sam Scott struggled to find the words to express what was going on inside his own mind but he had brought these people here. 

“He said he didn’t need my family anymore because he had found the perfect family. That he had me to thank for that,” Scott started to cry. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean. I didn’t think he would find us, I didn’t think he would take your kids.”

“He’s after Jack, Henry and Scarlett,” Hotch was simultaneously talking, dialling and running back to the car. “Garcia? Are you there?”

As he got behind the wheel of his vehicle Hotch realised that they had lost communication with the house. The unsub was after their children and there was no way to warm them he was coming.

CM_CM_CM

The last thing Garcia heard through her headset was the wail of sirens and a comment about the fire engine. As the line went dead Garcia considered that it was likely interference from the location and that the team would be back just as soon as they had stopped and they had good news for her. The first indication that they were in trouble was the lights and the rest of the power going out.

“I’m thinking that can’t be good,” every instinct in Will’s body went on high alert. This was not good. 

“I can’t get a call out. No land line, no cell,” Garcia had moved into the centre of the room. The three of them had instinctively migrated closer together. 

Will stepped up and took a look out of the window. The two police cruisers were there but as hard he tried to look, Will couldn’t see any sign of the officers. This was definitely not good. Will reached for his gun and primed it. It was all the indication the women needed as to the seriousness of the situation. Garcia hated guns, she didn’t carry a weapon, had no need to carry a weapon and certainly had no plans to. Even after she had been shot she had never wanted to develop the ability to take another life. As a Stanhope Scarlett had not been allowed to be so squeamish (or liberal as her staunch republican grandfather would have called it). She had been taken on her first hunt before her mother died. Scarlett’s problem now was that she had no weapon and she was far from the best physical shape. Running would be out of the question so if it came down to it, she was going to have to stand and fight.

“Garcia, would you be so kind as to go and get the children,” the tension in Will’s body was palpable and Garcia didn’t have to be asked twice. Racing up the stairs she did as she asked, pulling small sleepy bodies from their warm beds. 

When they first arrived home this evening Rossi had spilled the beans that his wine cellar was also a panic room. At the time Morgan had made a crack about how only an Italian would lock himself up with a room full of wine in an emergency. It had seemed funny at the time but not so much anymore. When Rossi had explained how to use it Scarlett had paid close attention even in her tired and drug induced state but what she had noticed, more than the rare 42 bourdeaux, was the gun safe. 

With Will watching points of entry Scarlett thumbed in the code to the panic room and opened it up. She stood infront of the gun safe and realised that she didn’t have the combination. Rossi had been a marine though so she tried the date of the marine corp birthday. When it didn’t work she tried Rossi’s mother’s birthday thinking that as a good Italian son it was something he would never forget. That didn’t work either. On the third attempt the safe opened; James’s birthday. It was something to ponder later. Loading the revolver she decided that she would leave that for Garcia. Swiftly Scarlett grabbed the glock, loaded it and tucked it in the back of pyjamas. Next she grabbed the rifle that was stored there and the ammo knowing that while she had more experience with a gun like this there was no way she would be able to use it with one hand incapacitated. Finally Garcia piled into the room with the boys. 

“That is just in case,” Scarlett said as she pointed to the revolver. Garcia was trying to explain that she didn’t believe in guns as the sound of breaking glass from the back door reverberated through the house. Scarlett closed and secured the door trusting that Rossi’s security was as good as it should be.

CM_CM_CM

Hotch weaved in and out of the traffic his focus on the road and his knuckles white as he held the steering wheel in a death grip. In that moment he might be wearing the trappings of an FBI agent but he was just a father; when it came down to it there was no more important job. JJ was repeatedly hitting speed dial on her cell

“It keeps telling me that it’s out of range,” she said hitting the speed dial button again.

Rossi was dialling the number for the FBI, while Weston was calling in for back up. Ten kinds of hell were about to be unleashed on the unsub, it just needed to happen before anything happened to the children.


	10. An End is Just a Beginning

Will fired two shots at the man who was at the back door. An arm was reaching and trying to undo the locks. The door gave way and a figure moved into the house that was illuminated only by the full moon outside. Will fired again and this time one of the bullets caught the Louisiana man. Scarlett heard him hit the floor, his harsh breathing the only indication that he was still alive. Scarlett stepped into the room in time to see the shadow of the unsub standing over the man.

“Stop,” Scarlett had no idea what she was doing. She had never been more scared and “Please.”

“He’s in my way,” 

“No he’s not. I’m here and it is me that you want to see, isn’t it” 

“Put the gun down,” Chamberlain took a step away from Will. Scarlett laid the rifle on the table nearest to her. With Chamberlain’s back turned Will did his best to get onto his feet. With a bullet wound he was neither quiet nor stealthy and Chamberlain punched him. Will went down and stayed down.

“I’m sorry they hurt you,” Chamberlain reached out to Scarlett backing her up against the wall. “I was angry with them. That was why they had to die. They hurt you. They had no right. They found you for me. You’re mine,”

Scarlett couldn’t force herself to move as Rick Chamberlain/Edward Hunter/ whatever his name leaned in and kissed her. Luckily, repulsed, her head turned away so his lips landed on the side of her face

“You want me to be your daughter. So why would you kiss me?”

“Don’t you see? You can be a daughter and a wife. It will be perfect. You’ll never leave me. We can be together forever,” No fucking way, is what the voice in her head was screaming.

“Go and get your brothers,” Scarlett was grateful that he had taken a step back giving her room to move and breathe and think. 

“No. I can’t let you take them. They don’t belong with you. It doesn’t matter anyway by now they’ll be gone. They’re safe far away from here,” Scarlett hoped that she would be forgiven the lie. 

“No,” Scarlett felt the punctuating slap that accompanied his word all the way to the soles of her feet. The second slap sent her spinning, forcing her to her knees. Her ears seemed to ring but then she realised it was the distant sound of sirens. Chamberlain realised it too. 

“You’re coming with me,” Chamberlain pulled Scarlett to her feet so hard that she felt her stitches in her abdomen pop. She was being pulled towards the door. 

The air outside was biting cold and it smelled like snow in the air. Chamberlain’s hand bit deep into her arm as he walked back through his tracks in the snow. Terror started to rise in her now that she was alone, she tried to pull away, hold Chamberlain back, afraid that the sirens wouldn’t reach them in time. She was also afraid that they would reach them and more people would get shot. Chamberlain was focussed on getting to his car, muttering under his breath. Scarlett was nothing more than something to drag behind him. The weight of the glock was still at her back. Scarlett yanked herself out of his tight grip and staggered backwards as fast as she could fighting hard to keep herself on her feet. Chamberlain came for her but there was now enough space to pull the gun. Levelling the glock at him Chamberlain stopped and raised his own weapon. She took a step back but Chamberlain didn’t take the hint and stepped forward maintaining the distance between them. It was a stand-off. Their guns levelled at each other, and their unflinching eyes watching for any sign of movement.

“I don’t understand why you’re doing this. We’re leaving together,”

“No. we’re not,” 

“We’re family. Put the gun away you don’t need it,”

“You are not my family,”

“Don’t say that,” Chamberlain yelled. He fought the urge to shoot her. A large part of him wanted to but then he would be alone, and while she was alive there was still a chance that she would come with him. Didn’t she understand that what he could give her was so much better than anything she could find here? He was going to take care of her; Forever.   
Scarlett could feel the ache in her arm from the effort of keeping it aimed at Chamberlain. Her grip was clumsy and she was shaking violently from the cold. She just needed to hold on a little longer. The sirens were getting closer and louder but Chamberlain didn’t seem to hear them anymore. 

Scarlet heard the screech of brakes as a car came to a shuddering halt. She didn’t dare look over to see who it was. It was only seconds before there was another and then another. Chamberlain glanced over to the growing collection of law enforcement officers, the anger in his eyes turning to rage and panic. 

“I’ll kill her if you come any closer,”

“No you won’t we both know that’s not what you want Rick,” Scarlett could have wept with relief as Rossi’s voice filled the night around them.

“Stay back. I mean it. I will kill her. You don’t deserve her,”

“You’re probably right Rick but right now you have to know that you need to put the gun away. I understand why you did what you did. Why you killed your wife. She was going to leave you. That had to be tough. Your family is everything to you and she was going to take it away but you have to know that this isn’t the answer. You were afraid of being alone, but you don’t have to be alone anymore. We can sort this out Rick. Let us help you.”

Rick Chamberlain had the look of a broken man. Rossi waited, watching the man, praying that he would put the gun down, praying that Scarlett wouldn’t get hurt and hoping that he can get to her in time. 

“I’ve always been alone,” Chamberlains voice was little more than a whisper. He hadn’t been happy for years not since the fire; the first fire. He should have died. He wished he had, so many times. He would be better off dead.

Rossi sensed the change in the man in front of him, the tension flowing out of Chamberlain as his own anxiety increased. Chamberlains arm slackened a little but Dave knew that there was no salvation until the unsub was unarmed and in handcuffs. Quickly moving the gun to his temple, Rick Chamberlain pressed the barrel to his head and blew his brains out. 

“It’s ok. You can let go of the gun now. You were so brave Scarlett. I’m so proud of you,” Scarlett felt a pair of strong arms around her and the gun was being taken out of her hand. She was being drawn away from the sight of Rick Chamberlain slowly bleeding into the snow. She buried her head in her father’s shoulder and held on.

CM_CM_CM

It had been exactly a month since Scarlett had arrived in his life, which also meant that it was exactly a month since Rick Chamberlain had killed himself. They had all recovered well from that night, even Will who was stuck on crutches for at least another six weeks. Like many of their cases it had brought them all a little closer together. Chamberlain’s crimes, while not excusable, could at least be understood for their motivation. He wanted a family, something that the BAU team was blessed to have; a bond of love and friendship.

Rossi himself had more than he could have wished for. He had been a father for a month and to celebrate Scarlett was meeting him here for a tour and then lunch. It had been the third time they had arranged it but serial killers had got in the way. Even so, he had seen her a lot in a few weeks and on days that he was out of town working on a case he spoke to her by phone. There were times when Scarlett was so like her mother and times when Dave fancied that she took after him but most of all she was her own person. Slowly she had emerged from the bruises and he could see just how stunning she was. He wasn’t the only one to think that she was beautiful; Rossi saw the way people looked at her. Morgan and the team had gathered around her in the bullpen as she waited for her. The conversation was casual so a few of the other agents had drifted closer. Morgan though appeared to be flirting with Garcia and Scarlett simultaneously and his eyes were going places that they had no right to be. He had the father’s irrational desire to step between her and any man who looked her way.

“Are you ready to start the tour,” Dave said as he stepped up.

“Ready when you are,” Scarlett smiled broadly. She had rarely felt this happy or content. 

“Then the tour has to start in my lair,” Garcia giggled and grabbing Scarlett by the hand pulled her toward her office. Dave sighed indulgently. Garcia had been great, as only Garcia could, and had long ago designated herself the one woman welcoming committee for Scarlett but the whole team had been great. Scarlett had joined them for Thanksgiving dinner just last week and she had embraced the team as family, understanding the bond that existed between them all and bringing them gifts. 

“Take your time Dave,” Hotch said. “It’s a quiet day.”

“Thanks, and Morgan,” the tone was professional but the eye contact said fuck with my kid and I’ll fuck with you. “Don’t even think about it”  
Hotch choked back a laugh

“I don’t see what’s funny. That goes for you too,” Dave stared them both down making it clear that he was serious. “And remember I can hide your bodies so that no one ever finds you.”

Whistling Dave strode to Garcia’s office in search of Scarlett, his girl, his daughter.


End file.
